Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) - A developer is rolling out plans to build a 500-foot viewing wheel on the Las Vegas Strip that would be higher than the London Eye and give visitors an unparalleled view of Sin City.

Developer Howard Bulloch of Compass Investments released details of the project Monday at the site across Las Vegas Boulevard from the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino.

Skyvue hopes to create 400 over the next two years.

"Our construction people tell us we'll have 200 jobs during the phases of construction and about another 200 permanent jobs in the operation of the wheel and retail complex below," says Bulloch.

This piqued the interest of the Clark County Commission, which gave the project a rare, unanimous decision.

"You can have hundreds of people put back to work and that says a lot," says Commissioner Susan Brager. "That really helped along the 7-0 vote, in knowing that it will create jobs."

The first phase of the project begins with the destruction of the 50-year-old Happi Inn Motel. In its place will sit a 500-foot-tall ferris wheel, taller than the Mandalay Bay.

The wheel will include an LED screen larger than a football field, more than three dozen gondolas capable of holding up to 22 passengers, and a breathtaking view of the Las Vegas Strip.

"This is going to change the skyline of the Las Vegas Strip in a major way," says Bulloch. "To have a structure as big as the Mandalay Bay, that's pretty exciting."

Construction on the wheel will be completed in a year.

Bulloch wants the attraction to open in 2013 as part of a $100 million privately funded project that will include a roller coaster and 200,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space.

A rendering of the Ferris-style wheel shows its rotation perpendicular to the Strip. That means views from the 40 gondolas wouldn't be obstructed by other passenger cars.